49ers' Brock Purdy discusses strength of surgically repaired arm

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed earlier this week that quarterback Brock Purdy possesses a stronger arm "than what we thought it was when we drafted him" with the final pick in 2022. 

On Tuesday, Purdy discussed his return to full fitness coming off surgery he underwent in March to address a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

"I was still trying to get to that point [during training camp], build up that arm strength and everything, and sort of work out the fatigue kind of thing," Purdy explained, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "So, yeah, it's been a work in progress, starting back to camp, but once the season hit, I was able to do it."

The 49ers may or may not have tried to lure Tom Brady out of retirement when Purdy was in the early days of his recovery, but the 23-year-old has since shown he may be better now than he was as a rookie sensation. According to ESPN stats, Purdy began Wednesday leading the league among qualified players with a 115.1 passer rating, a 77.0 adjusted QBR, a 70.2% completion percentage and an average of 9.7 yards per pass attempt. He tossed 18 touchdown passes against only five interceptions en route to helping the 49ers get to 7-3 ahead of the upcoming Thursday night game against the 6-4 Seattle Seahawks. 

"I do feel like just my pre- and post-routine of throwing has allowed my arm to get stronger, just in general," Purdy continued. "Obviously, after the surgery, [the goal was to] recover, but just my habits and stuff of what I've done in the NFL compared to college, it's a night and day difference, and I feel like it has helped my arm get stronger...I feel like my arm has gotten stronger." 

Multiple analysts have recently compared Purdy to 49ers legend and Hall of Famer Joe Montana. As of Wednesday morning, oddschecker listed Purdy fifth among the betting favorites at +1600 odds to earn Most Valuable Player honors in his second pro season. At that same time, oddschecker had the 49ers as seven-point favorites over the Seahawks.